When they called to inquire about marketing their home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, they were understandably concerned.  They had heard the stories about how houses were not selling and were well aware of the large number of homes for sale around them.  They had very different approaches to the process.  He was more methodical and had laid back charm about him.  She was practical and realistic; she wanted to focus on getting things done quickly.

They had been referred to us by their friends who had successfully sold their home with Audu Real Estate. Before I booked the appointment, I clearly spelled out what would be involved in a listing appointment.  My marketing plan is very thorough and the listing presentation would involve a detailed review of their home to Stage it correctly.  They needed to anticipate a 2-3 hour time frame.  They were a little surprised but checked their schedules and we agreed to a date on the calendar.

Today, less than 65 days after that first meeting, their smiles of joy lit up the room during their Closing.  Their home was sold in less than 30 days!   I think in retrospect that 2-3 hours spent at the beginning was worth it's weight in gold....or at least dollars.  

Marketing a home and creating a strategy to Sell and Stage a home is not an easy task. Prior to our presentation, our client specialist Ed Vogt and I spent several hours in painstaking research to determine the best possible pricing strategy for their area. 

After  the listing presentation, we re-toured the house with the home owners to show them how to "put the show on the road" from a Staging Perspective. Our final act before we left, was to ask them if we could ask for the Grace of a Blessing on their home.  We explained that our best efforts could not yield the results that God's blessing would.  We all joined in a simple request for grace.

The home was placed on the market and an Open House scheduled.  The Open House yielded one Mortgage Broker who intercepted a potential buyer and apparently sent her fleeing.  This is a trend that we are seeing more of in Grand Rapids...Mortgage lenders arriving unannounced at Open Houses to solicit real estate agents.  We weren't really pleased by the prospecting tactics of this one.

Thankfully we explain to all our clients that you don't need 100 people to walk though your house to sell it.  You only need one person...the right buyer!  In this case this was especially true.  After one canceled showing...the right buyer showed up and wrote an intelligent offer.  And today, our seller's had solid cash in their hands from the Sale of their home!

After the papers were signed, we gave each Important Participant a box of Godiva Chocolates.  This tradition is our way of saying Thanks for Making it Possible for Us to Succeed in Our Job!  The other Realtor was shocked.  She said that in decades of doing transactions, NO ONE had ever thanked her with a gift!  She immediately began to think of how she could incorporate this into her business. 

Sitting at that table I was struck by how far a little kindness can go.  Simply being polite during a transaction and following through on your word can make a world of difference.  Simply Telling the truth about what it will take to sell a home can save a lot of heartache.  Simply Being willing to go the extra mile in preparing a home owner can make the difference between a sale or no sale.  Simply Responding to professional counsel can determine success or failure.  It's these vital, yet Simple things that make a big difference.  And then again perhaps they are not Simple things at all!

Copyright 2007 Audu Real Estate  All Rights Reserved

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Why Shifting Into Neutral Can Fast Forward Your Advancement!

 There's an oft repeated tale about how certain hunters in Africa catch monkeys.  It can be very difficult to corral these intelligent creatures, so hunters have used a more inventive method...trapping a monkey by enticing him.  A small jar is placed at the base of a tree with nuts or other items which may attract the monkey's curiosity. 

The opening of the jar allows the monkey to place his hand in, but when he tries to withdraw it, he is unable to do so without letting go of the contents of the jar.  Believe it or not, some monkeys will stay there with their hand in the jar until the hunter comes back to trap them!  They are trapped because they are unwilling to let go of something they are doing which is working against them.

It's not just monkeys who get trapped by what we are unwilling to release.  While, most of us would not be tempted by peanuts or sweets in a jar, it's amazing the things we will hang onto rather than release them so we can move on.  As a Realtor, I witness this phenomenon all the time.  The peanuts are quite conventional; I've got to obtain this Price for my house...irregardless of the market or I must have this home even though I can't really afford the payments. There may be variations on these themes, but in the end they're still peanuts...unrealistic expectations held on to at the expense of moving forward and achieving our goals & desires.

The real estate process often involves the 3 main components of this story; the Hunter, the Monkey & the Jar of Peanuts.  Buyers & Sellers are the significant players in the real estate process.  Sometimes, there is a tendency to behave like the monkey with the hand stuck in the jar for a few peanuts.  Instead of drawing back, taking the hand out of the jar to reconsider options and listen to sound counsel, so many get trapped by the peanuts. 

Peanuts are the misguided rewards that we think we desperately need.  Peanuts are symbolized by the Price that the Property must be worth because so much has been put into improvements.  Peanuts talk to the monkey even though they have no audible voice.  They convince the monkey that if you hold on to this for long enough, you will get what you want.  Peanuts lie!  Letting go of false assumptions is what will bring fulfillment to the desire & this can only be done by stopping the action of holding on to those peanuts. 

Holding on to an Artificially Inflated Price which the current market cannot support is listening to the Peanuts Lie.  Refusing to let go of clutter that serves no useful purpose and is hindering the sale of your home traps the hand in the peanut jar.  Looking for the , perfect home, in the perfect neighborhood, with  the perfect neighbors at the perfect price etc. ad nauseum ensures that your dream will never become a reality because...I tell you truth...Those peanuts will lie to you & then trap you! Once you move into the perfect neighborhood, you can rest assured, it will no longer be perfect.

The Hunter represents market forces.  The market needs players so it offers attractive opportunities. The number of financing vehicles, housing choices & selling tools  available to home buyers and home sellers has created many options &  provided a diverse variety of peanut jars. The market doesn't really care which monkey is snared by the contents of the jar.  It knows that some monkeys will pass by it's offers & simply decide that peanuts just aren't' an attractive choice on the menu at the moment. 

The Hunter also figures that a certain percentage of monkeys will recognize a trap when they see one & won't fall for the ruse.  But, it gambles that enough monkeys will not figure out a very simply solution to the dilemma.  Simply, let go of the peanuts, release your hand from the trap, turn the jar upside down & then you can have your peanuts & not get trapped!  The monkeys who have their Freedom & Eat Their Peanuts as well are those who realize that sometimes you have to let go of an outdated or incorrect assumption or ideals in order to move forward.  Sometimes, the action you take to STOP doing the wrong thing is the most important action you take because it allows you to see more clearly the best solution & option available to you.

Instead of demanding the highest price, simply stop being unrealistic.  Instead of taking several jobs to support a lifestyle we cannot afford, simply stop spending more money than you make or sell your house & move to something more affordable. We would be so much further ahead. if we concentrated on simply stopping doing a few of the things that we are doing which impede our progress  Instead of thinking like the monkey who is committed to getting a few peanuts out of a jar at the expense of his life & freedom, we can stop and  let go of the peanuts  & choose intelligent solutions.  This technique works for real estate & for life!

© 2007 Audu Real Estate  All rights reserved